Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Chapter 1264 – Rumors Can Kill!
Gaia 7th year, 10th month, 2nd day, Chengdu, Northwest warzone command headquarters.
A month of sieging saw the Great Xia Army suffer 500 thousand losses while killing 600 thousand enemies and capturing 200 thousand. They had used up an innumerable amount of grain. Moreover, most of the captured troops were Tibetan soldiers.
Such results showed that Jia Xu’s meat grinder operation was true to its name.
From an attacking point of view, having such results was already remarkable. After all, both sides were using imperial city guards and not too much difference existed between their skill.
The Great Xia Army was strong because of their famous generals. The India Region that lacked history in comparison could not compete with them.
Although India was one of the old civilizations, their only decent dynasty was the Peacock Dynasty. After which, they were conquered by outsiders and colonized for a long time.
Just the British colonization lasted for close to 200 years.
Along with the left wing, middle, and middle protecting armies regrouping at Lhasa City, the war of Tibet officially entered its second stage. Northwest warzone commander gave out a series of orders.
The middle protector army would work with the middle army to officially siege Lhasa City.
Meanwhile, the left and right wings would continue west to charge behind the city and cut off the Ashoka Dynasty’s support of Lhasa City. They were trying to take down Lhasa City within a month.
As the imperial city of Tibet, Lhasa City was the only decent city among all the cities on the Tibet plateau. Its city walls were strong and took up a large area; this was the central grain base of the Ashoka army.
The moment they broke into Lhasa City, it would basically signal Great Xia’s victory for a large part of the war.
Without needing any explanation, everyone knew that Lhasa City would be the focus, and a heated battle would occur there.
For this matter, Li Jing even personally rushed the logistics to send a large number of cannons and siege weapons. They bore through all the difficulties and hardships to transport these items to the frontline to help the army siege.
Just as Li Jing was considering the frontline battle, advisor Xun Yu walked in once more.
He had suggested going through the House of Ogedai to reach the backline of the enemy to sneak attack their grain path, but the proposed plan was rejected. As the war continued, Xun Yu suggested the plan twice, but he was rejected time and time again.
As they say, three strikes and you are out.
Xun Yu was a smart person and knew that commander Li Jing was not dumb. Since he was determined to fight head on, he had to have his reasons. Moreover, the Imperial Court not asking about it proved his conjecture.
As such, Xun Yu did not bring up the matter anymore.
However, who would have expected Li Jing to walk in at that moment, smile, and say, “Advisor, the grain path sneak attack plan that you suggested can be executed.”
“Has the time arrived?” Xun Yu asked.
Li Jing nodded and said, “Yes. Close to half of the enemy troops are wiped out. Now that we have surrounded Lhasa City, once we cut off their grain path, their million troops would be there for the taking.”
Xun Yu nodded.
…
Tibet, Anduo City.
This was the first city that the right wing had taken down, so it was also the location of the command center of the right wing.
Due to the convenience of the communication compass, the warzone commander’s orders were spread to Wang Jian’s hands really quickly. He instructed the right wing to send a legion of elite cavalry to go through the House of Ogedai to sneak attack the enemy’s grain path.
Considering the fact that the Qin army was not familiar with the land, there would be Mongol guides to lead the way. Once they entered Tibet, the Shanhai Guard spies would lead the way.
Apart from that, there were also some battle details.
When Wang Jian looked at it, he gained a whole new understanding of the planning ability of the warzone command headquarters and even Li Jing himself. In terms of planning of the military, battle specifications, and duties, the Qin army could not compare with them.
“It was not a coincidence that they could unify the mid plains.”
Wang Jian was filled with thoughts; this was the first time he had recognized Great Xia and the Imperial Court.
“Men!”
“Present!”
“Call Wang Ben over!”
“Yes, general!”
Wang Jian naturally wanted to send his son for such a difficult mission. Wang Jian would not be at ease if he sent other generals, as they needed to go deep into enemy lines and would need to adapt.
Coincidentally, Wang Ben had recently withdrawn from the frontlines, and he and his men were resting up.
Very quickly, Wang Ben rushed over to the tent, bowed, and said, “Father!” Successive days of fighting had made his skin rather tan. However, this only showed more of the grit and toughness of the Qin people.
As he had personally fought with his troops, Wang Ben’s face had two scars, making him look manlier.
“Take a look at this.”
Wang Jian passed over the order he had just received.
When Wang Ben looked at the order, he was delighted and said, “Father, let me go!”
“Rest up for one more day before setting off. Be careful.” Wang Jian did not say many useless words, but his last sentence revealed his concern for his son.
Wang Ben was trained up personally by Wang Jian, and the personality of the two were really similarly. However, as the Wang Ben that entered the wilderness was really young, it was unavoidable for him to have the sharpness and rashness of a young man.
In history, both of them left with great merit. After helping Qin establish the country, they backed out of politics and disappeared from the wilderness.
Only at the ending years of Qin did Wang Ben’s son Wang Li appear.
“Do not worry, father!”
Wang Ben felt warmth in his heart.
The father and son duo stood around the map and discussed in detail the traveling route.
…
India, Ashoka Dynasty, New Delhi.
During this period of time, Ashoka was in a really bad mood. He did not expect that after throwing in 1.5 million troops and huge amounts of resources, they would still be unable to repel the Great Xia Army.
Every city the frontline lost made his anxiety and depression grow.
Facing such a terrible situation, he was even tempted to lead the troops himself. However, the officials in the court stopped him, and only then did he shelve that idea.
In the words of the officials, “It is not that the soldiers are not going all out, but the enemy is simply too strong.”
Only then did Ashoka realize that the strength of Great Xia was not something that the Ashoka Dynasty could compare to. Even without mentioning other aspects, just in terms of resources and grain provision, the Ashoka Dynasty had the help of the heavens but were still unable to compete with Great Xia. Ashoka Could not imagine how the Great Xia civilians were able to transport the grain to the frontlines through all the mountains.
After Great Xia surrounded Lhasa City, Ashoka started planning their retreat.
Ashoka was not a fool and was not a pure soldier. As such, he would not disregard the fate of the dynasty just to protect their honor. He would not waste all their strength on the war of Tibet.
After the few battles, the current Tibet, without mentioning whether they could defend it or not, even if they managed to achieve victory, they would only receive ruins. Apart from honor, Tibet held no value for the Ashoka Dynasty.
However, at this moment, rumors spread in India, “Great Xia has made Ashoka so afraid that he cannot fall asleep at night. In just a week, he will withdraw his troops.”
There were many versions of this rumor, and all of them mocked Ashoka.
Even more shockingly, such rumors basically spread all over the Ashoka Dynasty overnight. From the officials to the civilians, everyone learned of this.
Obviously, there were people behind all these rumors with nefarious intentions.
Even to say that these rumors were designed and made up to prevent the Ashoka Dynasty from withdrawing their troops from Tibet.
Although Ashoka saw through the plot of the enemy, he no choice but to fall into it.
Since the rumors spread too quickly and became too common, it successfully ignited the common enemy mentality of the Ashoka civilians. If they withdrew their troops now, they would lose the hearts of the people.
